Latest news with #MuscatineCommunityCollege
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
QC community interacts with Holocaust survivors through virtual reality
The Quad Cities community has a chance to see history from a different perspective. 'Learning history is not something that is static,' said Trevor Meyers, Muscatine Community College's student engagement and residential life coordinator. Muscatine Community College is offering the 'Journey Back: A Virtual Reality Experience' exhibit, which is open to the public. 'I thought that was pretty neat that we have technology like that now,' said Karlee Harris, a Louisa-Muscatine High School student. 'Journey Back' is an exhibit made possible through virtual headsets provided by the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. In total, there are five different films that cover the stories of various Holocaust survivors. 'It brings something to life and preserves these stories for posterity for years to come for when there are no more people that survived the Holocaust,' Meyers said. 'In each of these five films, it is a 360-immersive technology so you can look up, down, left, right, and all around you. You will see a video, pictures, or film.' For Harris, the virtual reality experience was eye-opening. 'I thought it was pretty interesting that we were actually able to see it and visually learn, since not everyone is a textbook reader and can be like, 'Oh, that's what happened,'' Harris said. 'We can see it now, we can see how people felt, how they acted, and how basically their lives were transformed by this one event in history.' 'All of these survivors are at least 80 years or older, and so unfortunately that means every day we are losing these stories because they are passing away,' Meyers said. '(By learning) from a survivor you become a carrier of their legacy.' Muscatine Community College will continue to host the exhibit until May 2, and it is free to attend. To learn how to get tickets, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Learn about Alexander Clark with original play
Muscatine Community College, in collaboration with the Alexander Clark Foundation, proudly presents the 2025 Alexander Clark Lecture Series, an annual event celebrating Clark's enduring legacy of justice and equality. This year's program features the first public reading of an original play, 'Barberman: The Alexander Clark Story,' written by University of Iowa Playwright MFA candidate Cianon Jones. The event, free and open to the public, will take place on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. in Muscatine Community College's Little Theatre in Strahan Hall, 152 Colorado St. Alexander Clark, a pivotal figure in Iowa's history, moved to Muscatine in 1842 and became a successful businessman, civil rights leader, and the second African American graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law—preceded only by his son. He is best known for his landmark lawsuit against the Muscatine school board, which led the Iowa Supreme Court to desegregate the state's public schools—85 years before the national ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. He was also the spark behind the formation of the 1st Iowa Infantry Regiment (African Descent) during the Civil War. 'Barberman' delves into key moments of Clark's life, exploring his personal and public battles for justice. The play introduces audiences to his wife and children, abolitionist John Brown, and Jim White, a formerly enslaved man whom Clark aided in 1848. It also incorporates Clark's exchanges with renowned abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Playwright Cianon Jones said, 'I don't want the play to feel like a history book because I'm not a historian. A lot of the information that I wasn't finding detailed stories about, were these factual remnants of very personal moments in the Clark family's lives. To me it was those moments, those emotional experiences, that really needed extra special care because those were the aspects that placed Clark and his family off of a pedestal and back into flesh and blood.' Commissioned by Global Education at the Stanley Center and the Muscatine Art Center, the play is the result of a multi-year partnership aimed at expanding public engagement with Clark's story. 'We initially brought the University of Iowa's Darwin Turner Action Theatre to Muscatine, which sparked an interest in Clark's story. The enthusiasm from Cianon Jones and the theater group quickly led to the idea of developing a play,' said Krista Regennitter, Program Officer for Global Education at the Stanley Center. The reading, featuring a talented ensemble of university actors, serves as an early glimpse into the production process. According to Melanie Alexander, Director of the Muscatine Art Center, the goal is to develop a full stage production during the 2025-26 school year in collaboration with the playwright and university students. 'The reading on February 20th will provide the playwright and the actors with some insight on how to further finetune the piece,' said Alexander. 'In 2023, the Muscatine Art Center developed an exhibition that included informational banners on Alexander Clark, and this play builds on that content in a way that further draws audiences into the ordeals and successes as they were experienced by Clark, his family, and his allies.' Jones emphasizes the collective effort behind Clark's achievements. 'Alexander Clark was not alone in making these things happen. In the same way, parts of my current liberties exist because of his actions. There were people before, and in the same time, and after, whose efforts shared in the construction for the steps he was able to make. After putting together the timeline of Clark's life, his family, Iowa, the country and the world, the general narrative pretty much revealed itself.' The hour-long reading is free and open to the public, though some content may not be suitable for young children. A brief reception with the playwright and actors will follow in the lobby of Strahan Hall. For more information, contact Melanie Alexander, Muscatine Art Center Director, 563-263-8282, malexander@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Yahoo
Muscatine woman charged in graffiti incidents also facing hate crime, harassment charges
New details are emerging in the graffiti incidents that took place in Muscatine on January 26. According to information from 11 criminal complaints, Alisa Staats, 30, is facing charges in these incidents: She is accused of throwing bricks at a window and a camera at Susan Clark Junior High, causing over $3,000 in damages. The school was named after the first child to integrate into a Muscatine school in the 19th century. The vehicle seen in security video was found at Staats' home and a search warrant turned up a brick in her home. She is accused of leaving swastikas on St. Mathias Catholic Church. There is no video of Staats doing this but a search warrant revealed swastikas in her home and the graffiti was similar to other graffiti in the city. She is accused of vandalism at Muscatine Community College, which had five swastikas and a racial slur. Video from the college shows Staats walking up to a garage with something in her hand and a search warrant turned up swastikas at her home. She is accused of vandalizing Jibaro Restaurant, which serves Puerto Rican food, with multiple swastikas and 'we don't want you here.' There is no video at the restaurant, but the graffiti was similar to other incidents. Staats is accused of placing swastikas and two names on a wall at Guadalajara Restaurant, which serves Mexican food. According to the criminal complaint, 'it should be noted that Staats has an active no-contact order with (the names on the wall). This will be considered a hate crime as it was racially motivated' She also targeted the Merrill Hotel, which was hosting a large group of Chinese students in Muscatine for events, with two swastikas. One was near the hotel's outdoor sign. She allegedly left swastikas and other graffiti at Muscatine City Hall. Staats is seen on video vandalizing the wall and spitting on a statue. The complaint says this is considered a hate crime because City Hall has no political affiliation. She is accused of leaving multiple swastikas at an address in the city that is owned by Mayor Brad Bark. Video shows Staats in the area, vandalizing other properties. The criminal complaint for this charge says this is a hate crime because of political affiliation. A criminal complaint says Staats left swastikas at Pearl City Tobacco & Liquor, whose owner is Saudia Arabian. This is considered a hate crime. She is accused of leaving multiple swastikas at Pete's Tap and a sandwich shop. Staats is also facing a harassment charge. According to that criminal complaint, she threatened the transporting officer and his family several times. She has a preliminary hearing on the charges on February 7. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
